Artificial nail capable of preventing damage of French-nail decoration

ABSTRACT

An artificial nail is disclosed, which can increase the adhesive force between a French-nail manicure and the artificial nail and prevent a French-nail decoration from being damaged. The artificial nail includes an upper surface having a rough portion, a French-nail decoration formed on the rough upper surface, an adhesive layer having a strong adhesive force interposed between a French-nail manicure and the upper surface having the French-nail decoration. Also, the artificial nail set includes a tree having plurality of branches branching off from both sides of the tree and a plurality of artificial nails, each of which is detachably coupled to each end portion of the branches and has the above-described construction. The French-nail decoration formed on the artificial nail has a prolonged lifetime because it is prevented from being peeled off, worn or damaged (abraded).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an artificial nail, and moreparticularly, to an improved artificial nail capable of increasing anadhesive force between a French-nail manicure and the artificial nailand preventing a French-nail decoration from being damaged.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Generally, a full-cover artificial nail, which is called a nail tip, ismade of synthetic resin, such as nylon or acetate, through injectionmolding. The artificial nail is adhered to a user's nail to protect anddecorate the nail with beautiful shapes and colors. More specifically,the artificial nail protects a nail bed or a nail body of the user, anddecorates the user's nail with French-nail designs and attractivecolors.

As a basic cosmetic treatment, the nails are usually applied with acolored nail polish. The application of the nail polish onto the nailsis a complicated process, and it takes a lot of time and requires askilled experience to precisely and uniformly apply the nail polish ontoall of ten nail bodies. After that, the user should wait for the nailpolish to well and truly dry with patience. In the case in which thenail service is provided in a nail salon, it costs a great deal and isalso time consuming. Accordingly, in recent days, the use of artificialnail kits which are purchased from a market is rapidly increasing athome.

In general, a front surface (i.e., free edge) of the conventionalartificial nail appears glossy, as the remaining surface (i.e., uppersurface of a nail bed) of the nail. Hence, there is a drawback thatsince decoration ink or paint is not sufficiently adhered to the glossysurface of the nail, the decoration ink or paint is likely peeled offfrom the surface.

The drawback is the result of insufficient adsorption of the decorationink or paint to the surface of the artificial nail or the insufficientadhesive force of the decoration ink or paint to the surface.

The artificial nails are generally manufactured to have the glossysurface and are delivered to consumers intact. The consumers decoratethe surface of the artificial nail with decoration ink or paint, withoutusing an adhesive. In this instance, the decoration paint itself has noadhesive force sufficient to be adhered to plastic material used for theartificial nail, because of its chemical resistance. Accordingly, thedecoration paint is easily peeled off from the glossy surface, and thusthe decoration paint likely suffers from erosion.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional artificial nail witha French-nail decoration.

The conventional artificial nail 10 with French-nail decoration isadhered to upper surfaces of nail bodies 18 and 19 by an adhesive 15,with no adhesive being interposed between a French-nail decoration 13and a surface 12 of the artificial nail.

According to the artificial nail 10 with the French-nail decoration, anail bed of the artificial nail is made of transparent material, so asto show the pink nail bed under the artificial nail. The free edge 12 ofthe artificial nail is painted with white paint to form the French-naildecoration 13, except for the nail bed. The French-nail decoration 13and the remaining portion 11 of the artificial nail are generallyprovided with a transparent topcoat 14.

In a state that no adhesive is provided between the French-naildecoration 13 and the surface 12 of the artificial nail, decorationpaint is applied on the surface of the artificial nail, and the topcoatis applied on the decoration paint. Accordingly, the French-naildecoration is likely peeled off or damaged in a short time.

Also, the artificial nail has a smooth and glossy surface as the initialstate made at a factory. Therefore, in case that the surface 12 of theartificial nail is provided with the French-nail decoration 13, theFrench-nail decoration is likely peeled off or worn off with the lapseof time, which is subjected to the erosion.

Meanwhile, a conventional artificial nail set includes artificial nailswith a smooth and glossy surface. In case that a user attaches theartificial nails onto her nails, and then detaches a tap from theartificial nails to provide the surface of the artificial nail with theFrench-nail decoration, the French-nail decoration is provided on theupper surface of the artificial nail, without conducting matt-finishingto the surface of the artificial nail or applying an adhesive onto thesurface. Therefore, there is a problem that the French-nail decorationof the artificial nail is easily damaged and worn off.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve theabove-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art. One object of thepresent invention is to prolong the lifetime of a French-nail decorationformed on an artificial nail by preventing the French-nail decorationfrom being peeled off, worn off or damaged (abraded).

Another object of the present invention is to increase the absorbingforce of a surface of an artificial nail to a French-nail manicure, theadhesive force between the French-nail manicure and the surface of theartificial nail, or both the aforementioned absorbing force and theadhesive force.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide anartificial nail set with increased absorbing force and/or adhesive forceof a surface of the artificial nail to a French-nail manicure.

In order to accomplish these objects, according to one aspect of thepresent invention, there is provided an artificial nail with an uppersurface applied with a French-nail manicure, wherein a portion of theupper surface is rough so that the French-nail manicure can permeate theupper surface effectively.

The rough upper surface might not be an upper surface corresponding to anail bed but a free edge or an artificial tip, instead.

The rough upper surface may be formed through injection molding using anartificial nail mold having an unpolished portion.

The rough upper surface may be applied with the French-nail manicure toform a French-nail decoration.

In order to effectively absorb paint or ink to be used as theFrench-nail decoration, the upper surface of the artificial nail may beunpolished to form a rough surface, or may be subjected tomatt-finishing. The artificial nail having the rough surface ormatt-finished surface may be formed through injection molding using anartificial nail mold, of which the inner surface is polished, except fora portion corresponding to the rough surface, or the entire innersurface is unpolished.

The French-nail decoration may be formed on the upper surface of theartificial nail which is partially matt-finished or may be unpolished,thereby obtaining the artificial nail with the French-nail decorationpermeating the surface in depth and thus adhered thereto with a strongadhesive force.

Also, the present invention discloses an artificial nail having aFrench-nail decoration, which is characterized by comprising an adhesivelayer having a strong adhesive force interposed between a French-nailmanicure and an upper surface of the artificial nail.

The upper surface of the artificial nail to be applied with an adhesivemight not be an upper surface corresponding to a nail bed but a freeedge or an artificial tip, instead.

The French-nail decoration may be rigidly adhered onto the upper surfaceof the artificial nail by using the adhesive layer(s) under theFrench-nail decoration.

Furthermore, the present invention discloses an artificial nail having aFrench-nail decoration, which is characterized by comprising an uppersurface applied with a French-nail manicure, a portion of which is roughso that the French-nail manicure permeates the upper surfaceeffectively, and an adhesive layer having a strong adhesive forceinterposed between the French-nail manicure and the upper surface of theartificial nail.

The rough upper surface may be formed through injection molding using anartificial nail mold having an unpolished portion, and the adhesivelayer having a strong adhesive force may be interposed between theFrench-nail manicure and the upper surface of the artificial nail.

Since the upper surface of the artificial nail is unpolished or ispartially matt-finished, the French-nail manicure is effectivelyabsorbed, so that it is rigidly fixed to the upper surface of theartificial nail. Also, the adhesive layer having a strong adhesive forceis interposed between the French-nail manicure and the upper surface ofthe artificial nail to strongly adhere the French-nail decoration withthe artificial nail.

Also, the present invention discloses an artificial nail set including atree having a plurality of branches branching off from both sides of thetree, and a plurality of artificial nails each detachably coupled toeach end portion of the branches, characterized in that the artificialnail has an upper surface applied with decoration paint, and a portionof the upper surface is rough so that the decoration paint permeates theupper surface effectively.

The rough upper surface may be formed through injection molding using anartificial nail mold having an unpolished portion. The rough uppersurface may be applied with the French-nail manicure to form aFrench-nail decoration.

The French-nail decoration may be formed on a portion of the uppersurface of the artificial nail, and an adhesive layer having a strongadhesive force may be interposed between a French-nail manicure and theupper surface of the artificial nail.

The artificial nail set may include an upper surface of the artificialnail applied with the decoration paint, a portion of which is rough sothat the decoration paint permeates the upper surface effectively, aFrench-nail manicure applied onto a portion of the upper surface of theartificial nail, and an adhesive layer having a strong adhesive forceinterposed between the French-nail manicure and the upper surface of theartificial nail.

Each of the artificial nails is detachably coupled to each end portionof the branches at a proper position on the bottom surface of the freeedge of the artificial nail. Preferably, the coupling end of the branchis upwardly bent to have a curved shape or an obtuse angle so that thebranch contacts the proper position of the bottom surface of theartificial nail. The artificial nail may be detachably coupled to theend portion of the branch at a lower front portion of the free edge ofthe artificial nail, and the upper surface of the branch may notdirectly contact the upper surface of the artificial nail to have astepped portion.

The above construction is a very important feature in maintaining theinitial beauty of the artificial nails when the nails are designed bythe mold and also to prolong a the lifetime of the decoration bydrastically reducing the possibility of peel-off, abrasion, and damageof the decoration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional artificial nailhaving a French-nail decoration;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view depicting artificial nails according toembodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view depicting an artificial nail set havingartificial nails according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the followingdescription and respective drawings, the same reference numerals areused to designate the same or similar components, and so repetition ofthe description on the same or similar components will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view depicting artificial nails 20 accordingto embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspectiveview depicting an artificial nail set having artificial nails 20according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The artificial nail 20 of the present invention includes an unpolishedor rough free edge 21 a and an upper surface 21 c corresponding to anupper portion of a nail bed, as shown in FIG. 2. Preferably, theunpolished free edge 21 a does not extend beyond a portion to beprovided with a French-nail decoration.

Also, the artificial nail 20 may have a French-nail decoration on theunpolished free edge 21 a. Preferably, the border between theFrench-nail decoration and the free edge of the artificial nailcoincides with that between a nail bed of a natural nail and a free edgethereof.

The free edge of the artificial nail 20 to be provided with theFrench-nail decoration is unpolished, or is subjected to matt-finishing,and the French-nail decoration is provided thereon. Consequently,permeation of a decoration manicure to the surface of the artificialnail is improved, and an adhesive force between the decoration manicureand the surface is increased, so that the French-nail decoration isprotected against peeling or abrasion.

In order to provide the free edge 21 of the artificial nail 20 with arough surface, a mold for forming the artificial nail has a polishedportion corresponding to the nail bed.

Nail attachment, such as nail polish, nail paint, base coating, topcoat,and others, can be effectively absorbed and is more adhered onto thesurface of the artificial nail subjected to the matt-finishing, incontrast with moldings having a glossy and smooth nail body.

The reason why the artificial nail has different absorptance on theupper surface is that a plastic molding has a rich molecularconcentration or a lean molecular concentration. The glossy surface ofthe nail body is obtained by grinding a surface of the nail mold made ofstainless steel which comes in contact with a molten plastic duringmolding.

When the surface of the mold is polished to have higher surfacepolishing, the upper surface of the molded artificial nail appearsglossier. As the surface of the artificial nail appears glossier, themolecular concentration is low. If the molecules are dense, the outersurface of the artificial nail becomes harder, through which externalfluid or alien substance cannot penetrate. If the molecules are verydense and the outer surface is opaque, it is difficult to effectivelyabsorb French-nail paint and a transparent UV topcoat which serves avery important role as a protective coat for the French-nail paint.

When the surface of the mold is polished to have lower surfacepolishing, the molecular concentration of the upper surface 21 of theartificial nail or nail body is decreased. If the molecularconcentration is lowered, the nail body appears less glossy. That is,the surface is opaque and has a pool gloss. This results from theinjection molding using an unpolished mold. If the final artificial nailmade by such a mold is polished with a tool, the upper portion of lowmolecular concentration has a porous surface. Accordingly, the upperportion becomes weak, and has no hard or opaque property. This surfacepolishing is referred to as a matt-finishing. The matt-finishingprovides the surface of the artificial nail with absorption. Therefore,the artificial nail can be provided on the surface with an idealfixation for adhesion of white paint and UV topcoat to the surface.

The present invention provides a new mold for artificial nail composedof a well polished portion for forming the nail bed area 21 c having thegloss, and a small and thin unpolished portion formed on a front end ofthe free edge by matt-finishing the front end of the free edge to form athin surface area 21 a of a high absorptance.

Therefore, the upper surface of the molded artificial nail has twoimportant features. The cuticle edge 21 c of the artificial nail appearsglossy, so that it shows an attractive, healthy, and beautifulappearance. At the same time, the decoration 23 of the artificial nailthat extends along the front end of the free edge can absorb theFrench-nail decoration formed by painting the white colored paint ontothe soft surface 21 a, which is matt-finished, and applying the UVtopcoat on the paint, as compared with any conventional artificial nail.

The white colored paint and UV topcoat permeate the matt-finishedsurface area 21 a, and are fixed in plasticity.

Thus, the artificial nail provided with the French-nail decoration canbe maintained without worrying about the abrasion or corrosion of thewhite colored paint and the protective UV topcoat.

Referring to FIG. 2, the artificial nail 20, according to an embodimentof the present invention, includes an adhesive layer 30 having a strongadhesive force between a French-nail manicure 31 and the free edge 21 bof the artificial nail 20.

When the artificial nail set of the present invention is manufactured ina factory, the present invention may include a method of providing theartificial nail with the French-nail decoration by several processes,such as pad printing, spray, hand drawing, and others, in which theadhesive layer 30 having the strong adhesive force is formed under apreformed artificial nail.

When a strong adhesive is applied onto the surface 23 of the artificialnail on which the decoration is positioned, the decoration paint isapplied onto an upper surface of the adhesive, before the adhesive isdried. Accordingly, the French-nail manicure or paint 31 can be adheredonto the surface 21 of the artificial nail by the adhesive.

Referring to FIG. 2, the artificial nail 20, according to an embodimentof the present invention, includes an unpolished surface 21 a that isadjacent to the front portion 21 b of the upper surface and that is notpolished by the artificial nail mold having the unpolished portion, anadhesive layer 30 positioned on the unpolished portion 21 a, aFrench-nail decoration or paint 31 applied onto the adhesive layer 30,and a topcoat layer 32 formed on the French-nail decoration 31.

The unpolished or matt-finished portion 21 a of the upper surface of theartificial nail absorbs the French-nail manicure effectively, so thatthe French-nail manicure is fixed on a portion 21 a of the upper surfaceof the artificial nail, except for the upper portion of the nail bed.The adhesive layer 30 has a strong adhesive force interposed between thefixed French-nail manicure 31 and the surface 21 a of the artificialnail that increases the adhesive force between the French-nail manicure31 and the surface 21 a.

Referring to FIG. 3, the artificial nail set 5 includes a supportstructure 50 having a plurality of branches 40, and the branches 40 areconnected to either artificial nails 20 having the French-naildecoration formed on the unpolished portion 21 a, artificial nails (notshown) having no French-nail decoration on an unpolished portion,artificial nails with a French-nail decoration fixed by an adhesive, orartificial nails with a French-nail decoration provided on an unpolishedportion by an adhesive. The artificial nails 20 of the artificial nailset 5 may be formed of various sizes.

Referring to FIG. 3, each of the artificial nails 20 is detachablycoupled to each end portion of the branches 40 at a proper position 24on a bottom surface of the free edge of the artificial nail 20.Preferably, the coupling end of the branch 40 is upwardly bent to have acurved shape or an obtuse angle so that the branch contacts the properposition 24 of the bottom surface of the artificial nail 20. Althoughnot illustrated, according to the embodiments of the present inventionproviding the increased adhesive force, the artificial nail 20 isdetachably coupled to the end portion of the branch 40 at an end portion22 of the free edge of the artificial nail 20. The upper surface of thebranch 40 may not directly contact the upper surface of the artificialnail 20 to have a stepped portion.

With the above description, the artificial nail having the most popularFrench-nail decoration can prolong a lifetime of the French-naildecoration provided on the artificial nail by preventing the French-naildecoration from being peeled off, worn or damaged (abraded).

Also, the French-nail manicure effectively permeates the surface of theartificial nail, so that it can be rigidly fixed onto the surface.

The present invention can increase the adhesive force between theFrench-nail manicure and the surface of the artificial nail by using theadhesive layer.

Further, the present invention can increase the absorbing force of theFrench-nail manicure.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

1. An artificial nail with an upper surface applied with a French-nailmanicure, wherein a portion of the upper surface is rough so that theFrench-nail manicure permeates the upper surface effectively.
 2. Theartificial nail as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rough upper surfaceis formed through injection molding using an artificial nail mold havingan unpolished portion.
 3. The artificial nail as claimed in claim 1,wherein the rough upper surface is applied with a French-nail manicureto form a French-nail decoration.
 4. An artificial nail having aFrench-nail decoration, comprising: an adhesive layer having a strongadhesive force interposed between a French-nail manicure and an uppersurface of the artificial nail.
 5. An artificial nail having aFrench-nail decoration, comprising: an upper surface applied with aFrench-nail manicure, a portion of which is rough so that theFrench-nail manicure permeates the upper surface effectively; and anadhesive layer having a strong adhesive force interposed between theFrench-nail manicure and the upper surface of the artificial nail. 6.The artificial nail as claimed in claim 5, wherein the rough uppersurface is formed through injection molding using an artificial nailmold having an unpolished portion.
 7. An artificial nail set including atree having a plurality of branches branching off from both sides of thetree and a plurality of artificial nails, each detachably coupled toeach end portion of the branches; wherein the artificial nail has anupper surface applied with a French-nail manicure, and a portion of theupper surface is rough so that the French-nail manicure permeates theupper surface effectively.
 8. The artificial nail set as claimed inclaim 7, further comprising a French-nail decoration formed by applyingdecoration paint onto the upper surface.
 9. An artificial nail setincluding a tree having a plurality of branches branching off from bothsides of the tree, and a plurality of artificial nails each detachablycoupled to each end portion of the branches, the artificial nail setcomprising: a French-nail decoration formed on a portion of the uppersurface of the artificial nail; and an adhesive layer having a strongadhesive force interposed between a French-nail manicure and the uppersurface of the artificial nail.
 10. An artificial nail set including atree having plurality of branches branching off from both sides of thetree and a plurality of artificial nails, each detachably coupled toeach end portion of the branches, the artificial nail set comprising: anupper surface of the artificial nail applied with a French-nailmanicure, a portion of which is rough so that the French-nail manicurepermeates the upper surface effectively; a French-nail decoration formedon a portion of the upper surface of the artificial nail; and anadhesive layer having a strong adhesive force interposed between aFrench-nail manicure and the upper surface of the artificial nail.